The Romantic Call It Fate
by musings of a lifetime
Summary: In any dimension, any situation, somehow they would find a way to be together. Coincidence? Destiny? Some call it fate. SasuIno oneshot series. AU and futurefics included.
1. Overprotective

**1. Overprotective**

* * *

Sasuke knows that pregnancy makes women's hormones escalate out of whack and that mood swings are a definite given, but all the stuff Naruto and Shikamaru warn him about flies out of his head the moment that he realizes that his wife was dangerous, crafty, loud and extremely stubborn in her normal state. Add that to the pregnancy and, voila! A migraine for Uchiha Sasuke. A migraine who he loved very much, but a migraine nonetheless.

"I am pregnant, not an invalid, you stupid stubborn Uchiha-"

With the way Ino was cursing his name and muttering profanities, Sasuke was kind of scared that maybe the baby would be born prematurely.

"-and I'm a medic nin so I know what I'm doing thank you very much!"

His lovely wife glares across from him as she rants, wearing down the red carpeting as she paces in her (_wholly unreasonable_) anger.

Sasuke just blinks.

"But Sweetheart..." He starts, deciding that the sweet approach would calm her down. Unfortunately he is proven wrong. The former Yamanaka turns a vicious glare towards her husband and Sasuke automatically fears for his life.

"Don't you 'Sweetheart' me!" Ino bites out, affronted.

Suddenly, Ino sighs and runs a hand through her long hair. She deflates like all the fight's been left out of her.

Sasuke blinks again, trying very hard not to raise an eyebrow. Ino plops down on the couch behind her, rubbing her temples. Sasuke wants to check if her sudden movement hurt the baby, but decides at the last minute that Ino would probably kick him.

Smart man.

"Look, hon. I know you're worried for me and our baby," Ino says, and Sasuke's eyes soften at the last two words (which doesn't escape Ino's gaze since she graces him with a small smile), "but you're taking this over protective thing a little too far."

This time Sasuke does raise an eyebrow. What in the world was she talking about?

Ino interprets his look correctly and she exhales loudly.

"Sasuke. I understand that you don't want me to strain myself. I don't want to harm our baby either. BUT," She strains, casting a pointed look at her husband, "having me shadowed by two ANBU wherever I go is too much! The other day I tripped on a crack on the sidewalk and before I could regain my balance, a masked ANBU-who just came out from NOWHERE- holds me upright while another one seals the crack in the sidewalk with an earth jutsu. Then yesterday I tried to buy chocolate with Tenten and before I could line up towards the counter, one ANBU tells me that I can't have chocolate because sweets aren't good for the baby and I should be eating healthy, while his/her partner warns the salesclerk not to sell any chocolate to me or else I would be facing the wrath of one Uchiha Sasuke."

Ino glares heatedly again while Sasuke rolls his eyes. He doesn't see the harm, after all, the ANBU were doing their job, keeping her safe even from herself.

"The week before that you had Naruto follow me around the village and made sure I was restricted from leaving! Sasuke, you had the Hokage follow me around like a maid!"

Ino buries her head in her hands in the _embarassment _of it all_. _

"What? Naruto owed me a favor." Sasuke says slowly, still not understanding. After all, it was the Uzumaki himself who said he wanted to be the godfather.

Ino just mutters "idiot" under her breath. Of all the people who should understand the concept of pride...

She doesn't look up as she continues, "Sasuke. What you're doing is an insult to me as a ninja. You're making it look like I'm some weak little girl who can't handle being pregnant. The civilians don't need bodyguards while they're pregnant! And anyway, I'm not even that far into the pregnancy yet."

Sasuke closes his eyes and sighs. "Fine. I'll tell my ANBU to lay off."

Ino looks up and casts a slightly amused smile at her husband. "Yeah, let them go back to their real duties, which does not include shadowing an ex-Avenger's wife around her home village."

"...Truce? You'll stop being mad about this?" Sasuke asks, sitting down beside his wife and taking her in his arms. Ino snuggles closer to him.

"Sure, as long as you make good on your promise."

* * *

Three days later, when Sasuke is on a mission to Kusagakure, Ino steps out of the Uchiha compound and blinks owlishly at a genin team who say that they'll be her bodyguards for the week that Sasuke is away.

Ino slaps a hand to her face.

_Baka Uchiha.._

Still, it was sweet how overprotective he could be.

But she would never tell him that.

**end.**

Thanks for reading! Send me prompts, comments, and suggestions in a review please! I'd love to know what you guys think.


	2. Home

**Home**

Two dark eyes behind black bangs stared straight at her. Ino mustered up her best glare in return.

"Uchiha Kouhei, go take a bath."

The four year old narrowed his eyes. Ino took the time to marvel at the fact that Kouhei was exactly a mini me of Sasuke. Right down to the attitude.

"I don't wanna."

Ino raised an eyebrow. She still couldn't decide whether her youngest inherited his stubbornness from her or from his father.

"Are you arguing with me, young man?"

"Not at all, mother."

_Well._ Four years old, and already sarcastic. Was this the consequence of making Shikamaru his godfather? The long-suffering mother sighed.

"Hiroyuki!"

The eldest of Sasuke and Ino's children entered the living room and raised an eyebrow at his mother and youngest brother. At thirteen years old, Hiroyuki (Hiro to his close friends) was already making a name for himself in the shinobi world, determined to follow in his parent's footsteps. Even though he was still a genin, he was already learning how to effectively utilize both his inherited bloodline jutsus, merging the Yamanaka mind jutsus with the Uchiha's Sharingan. He seemed to like training a lot, but still found time to relax with friends and family, something Ino and Sasuke drilled into all of their children, making sure that their offspring would grow up in a loving environment with a good relationship with their family. Aside from being a talented ninja, he was also very handsome, inheriting Sasuke's good looks (but his hair was spiky and resembled Kiba's hairstyle), and his mother's smile and charisma.

"Hey mom. Hey Kouhei-chan. What's going on?" Hiroyuki asked, pausing to ruffle his younger brother's hair, the latter immediately attaching himself to Hiroyuki's leg the moment that he saw his brother.

"Aniki! Momma's making me take a bath!" The younger boy cried, pouting at his older brother and idol. Hiro smirked amusedly, sneaking a glance at his mother. Ino looked at her eldest and smiled tiredly.

"He still won't accept that everyone has to do it."

Hiroyuki laughed. Then he scooped his brother in his arms and kissed Ino on the cheek.

"All right mom, I'll handle the little bugger."

"Thanks, son. I'll get you some dango later." Ino replied, grinning at the way Hiro smiled at hearing his favorite food. Hiroyuki turned to his brother, who looked confused at the deal that was made.

"Come on, kid. Let's go get you clean."

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Ino had to laugh at the sight of Kouhei hitting his brother on the back with tiny fists, looking like he was about to cry.

* * *

The sound of the front door opening and closing made Ino stick her head out from the kitchen to look at who entered. She was greeted with the sight of her two other children, Setsuna and Kiyoe, just coming home from the Academy. Twelve year old Setsuna was sporting a black eye and eight year old Kiyoe, who was glaring pointedly at her brother, saw Ino and rushed over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Mommy!" Ino hugged her only daughter, who looked almost exactly like a mix of her and Mikoto (Sasuke's mom), except for her black eyes. It seemed fitting that the only female Uchihas had the same hair color. It took only once glance for people to know that the girl would grow up to be quite the looker. Kiyoe was a level-headed and graceful girl, witty, charming even in her young age, and had an air of nobility in her. Sasuke always said that she had an adult's mind in a child's body.

Setsuna was a fresh graduate of the Academy and extremely eager to follow his brother and parents' footsteps. He had a crafty mind and a personal hobby of playing pranks on people, which was why he and Naruto got along so well, along with the fact that they both liked ramen. He had the trademark Uchiha smirk, and looked like a boy version of Ino, except for his black hair and eyes.

"Setsuna, you have two minutes to explain."

"One word mom. Yuuka." Yuuka happened to be Sakura and Kiba's eldest daughter, only a year older than Kiyoe, and Kiyoe's best friend. The girl was very pretty, and Ino had always suspected her son of having a crush on her. Unfortunately, he still couldn't express that admiration properly.

"What did you do _now_?" Ino asked, sighing. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her son. The boy frowned.

"Why is it always my fault?" He lamented, throwing his hands in the air in an exasperated gesture. Two raised eyebrows from his female family members were his only answer. "I swear I didn't do anything this time! I only winked at her! Then she punched me in the face!"

...Winked at her? Ino wondered. She blinked disbelievingly at her son's uncharacteristic behavior.

"Kiyoe, your turn to explain."

"Yuuka-chan punched Setsuna-baka-nii-san because he winked at her while she was climbing a tree using chakra on her feet. She fell face first into mud." Kiyoe reported, looking accusingly at her brother out of loyalty to her best friend.

"She fell while climbing a tree. Because you winked at her." Ino repeated, trying to stop the wicked grin that threatened to erupt on her face. Kiyoe nodded and Setsuna looked miserable, wincing while touching his black eye. "Don't worry Setsuna, I'll talk to your Aunt Sakura about this."

More like they were going to gossip about the future relationship and matchmaking opportunities this could bring!

Setsuna narrowed his eyes accusingly at Ino, knowing whenever his mom was planning something diabolical and embarrassing.

"Stop that, Setsu-kun. You'll get wrinkles." Ino said absently, healing her son's black eye. Setsuna immediately stopped frowning. The boy could be as vain as his mother.

* * *

"Kiyoe-chan, could you pass the onigiri?"

"Here you go, Hiro-nii-san. Kouhei-kun, stop throwing your food on the floor."

"But onee-san, I hate tomatoes!"

"You're the only one in this family who hates tomatoes! Dad'll roast you for that."

"Setsu-kun! Stop scaring Kouhei-kun!"

"Sorry, sorry Kiyoe-chan. It was a joke, little brother. Here, I'll give you some of my barbeque."

"Yay! Thank you, Setsuna-nii-san!"

Ino smiled as she watched her children banter as they ate. Dinner at the Uchiha household was a pleasant affair, an opportunity for their family to joke around and bond in a way totally different to the old Uchiha ideals, where Sasuke could only remember cold, formal suppers, so unlike what he experienced with his new family.

"Mom, why are you quiet?" Setsuna asked, mouth still full of rice and shrimp.

Ino pointed her chopsticks at him. "Don't speak when your mouth is full."

"Well don't point your eating utensils at other people." He retorted good-naturedly at his mother. Ino grinned. She turned to her youngest who was frowning while picking at his food.

"What's wrong, Kouhei-chan?" Ino asked, slightly concerned. The boy pouted adorably at her, still slightly miffed that he had to take a bath. However, his current dilemma wasn't about his hygiene.

"I miss Dad." He said simply, then went right back to eating his barbeque. Ino ruffled Kouhei's hair and mustered up a small smile.

"I miss him too. It's been a month since we saw him last." _And a month is too long. _

"Mommy, when is dad going to come back?" Kiyoe asked, eyes blinking curiously at her mother.

"He said he'd be back this week, sweetie. I'm not exactly sure when. But you know your father. He loves his surprises."

"I think he loves scaring the shi- I mean, the bejeezus out of us when he suddenly appears inside the house." Hiroyuki stated, immediately censoring what he was about to say when he realized that his little brother was beside him and his mom was doing her best glare.

"That's right." Came a voice from the window which made Kiyoe shriek in surprise and made the others jump. As they recognized who it was, the four Uchiha kids cried out in unison,

"DADDY!"

Uchiha Sasuke, S-rank ANBU of Konoha, struggled to breathe when he was suddenly glomped enthusiastically by his four children.

"Hey kids." He said as he sat upright, easing the passage of air into his lungs. He smiled at his kids, delighted in their warm welcome.

"Everyone, back to your food. You can attack your father when you're all done with dinner. In the meantime, you can tell him all you want to know as you finish eating." Ino said in a voice that bade no room for argument. Hiroyuki, Setsuna, and Kiyoe immediately sat back down at the dining table, while Sasuke carried Kouhei in his arms. Then Sasuke sat Kouhei down in his chair and made his way to his wife.

Ino beamed at him, then stood up and gave him a quick kiss. She also assessed him for any injuries, and was extremely pleased that he only had a few scratches and bruises. She hugged him then, not caring that her children were watching, and anyway, they were used to their parents showing affection for each other.

"I missed you so much. Welcome home. I love you." Ino whispered in his ear as Sasuke pressed their bodies closer together.

"Love you too." He whispered back and saw the loving smile Ino sent him. They broke away from their embrace and Ino went back to her seat while Sasuke took his customary place at the other end of the table. Kiyoe fetched him a bowl and chopsticks and Sasuke turned to thank his daughter. She only kissed him on the cheek.

As Hiroyuki passed him the tomatoes, he said, "Well, since Dad's here, I guess I can tell you my big news." Everyone stopped eating to look at him. Hiro smiled.

"I'm taking the chuunin exams in two weeks."

For a moment, silence greeted his remark. Then immediately the room exploded in a cacophony of sounds, his family expressing their excitement and pride for him. Ino stood from her seat to wrap him in a tight hug, shrieking her delight into his ear. His siblings were whistling and clapping, with Kouhei upsetting his food in his excitement. His father was giving him one of his rare grins and reached over to ruffle his hair. Hiroyuki let a blush settle on his features for a second before a challenging grin settled on his face.

"And you bet I'm gonna become chuunin! I won't let you guys down!" He said with a cocky smirk, pumping his fist in the air. He turned to face Sasuke. "Dad, you're training me, right?" Hiro said in a hopeful tone, reminding Sasuke of when he was a kid, looking at his father with the same hopeful look his son was giving him. Fugaku never gave him the time of the day. But Sasuke as a father was different.

"Of course, son." Sasuke replied sincerely, and secretly relished the look of pure happiness on Hiroyuki's face. "You'll be the best contender there."

"Awesome! 'Cause Kaito's boasting that he'll be the top contender this year just 'cause his dad's the Hokage but I know that with you training me, I'll give him a run for his money!"

As Hiroyuki was spouting off about his plans for the chuunin exam with various exclamations from his siblings (Setsuna arguing that he should practice his stealth skills for the exam, Kiyoe worried that he'd get too cocky and embarrass himself and the family, and Kouhei just too excited for his big brother), Sasuke glanced at Ino who was looking at their children with a proud smile.

It was times like this, when he was together with his family, that Sasuke wondered about what he had done to deserve his second chance at a good life- with an amazing wife and wonderful children. And he thanked Kami for it every day.

This was _home._

"Wait... who finished off all my tomatoes?"

"...Sorry tou-san."

Even if his only daughter did pawn off his prized tomatoes.

**end.**

****Thank you so much to everyone who read this fic! Your reviews keep me writing!

This prompt was supposed to be simple and cute but it escalated into... this. I'm still proud of it I suppose. I do apologize if my writing seems all over the place! I'd like to hear your thoughts about this. -smile-


	3. In An Alternate Universe

**In An Alternative Universe**

Sasuke was twenty years old when he met the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

He met her at his brother's promotion to CEO of Uchiha Industries. It was a meeting he would never forget.

She was danger in high heels.

The moment that Sasuke Uchiha laid his eyes on the statuesque blonde standing by the buffet table five feet away from him, he somehow knew she'd screw him up, one way or another, even if they'd never met before.

Or maybe he was paranoid. Having Itachi Uchiha as a brother did that to you.

Nevertheless, he still stared (while trying not to get caught). Who was she and what was her relation with Itachi?

"Hey Sasuke!" A hand settled on his shoulder, startling him for a moment. He turned to his right and came face to face with Sakura Haruno.

"Hey." His pink-haired best friend was smiling, green eyes lit up with mischief. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. When she looked like that, it never bode well for anyone.

"What?" He asked, trying not to roll his eyes because aside from being his best friend, she could break every bone in his body if she wanted to.

"Nothing," Sakura chimed. She let go of his shoulder and turned to look at the front of the large ballroom, where Itachi was talking to various business associates. "Tell Itachi congrats for me."

"Why won't you do it yourself?" Sasuke retorted, knowing full well why she wouldn't. The girl had a _thing _for his brother ever since they met some years ago. Unfortunately for her, Itachi was already taken.

"I have no desire to embarrass myself in front of him. And anyway, shouldn't you be with him? Mingling with stuffy men and bragging about your wealth?" Sakura said smoothly, steering the topic away from herself.

"Meh, I don't want to. That's his job. I'm here to look bad-ass." Sakura smiled at Sasuke's attempt at a joke.

"I think the way you're staring at Ino Yamanaka isn't helping with the bad-ass image. You look like a perv."

Sasuke's glare could melt a glacier. The pink-haired girl raised her hands in surrender.

"Jeez, that was a joke! Naruto says even worse things about your masculinity and you don't glare at him like that." When Sasuke's glare didn't die down, Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to her." She pulled his hand and led him towards the gorgeous woman, with Sasuke trying vainly to pull his hand away.

"Let go of me!" He whispered to Sakura, who complied. My god, that girl had a grip of steel. Where was Naruto when he needed him?

"Ino!" Sakura called to the blonde, who was facing away from them, talking to Deidara Yamanaka, a renowned sculptor and one of Itachi's friends. Wait, they were both Yamanakas, they were both blonde, and they both had the same hairstyle. Siblings?

The blonde girl turned. She had big blue eyes, a killer figure emphasized by the purple cocktail dress she was wearing, and a smile that could brighten up a room.

She was way prettier close up. Then she smiled and Sasuke felt his heart speed up.

If he wasn't Sasuke Uchiha he would probably be gaping like a fish. As it was, he tried to look cool, collected and extremely indifferent.

"Hi Sakura!" The girl, Ino, chimed. Sasuke realized she had a voice that matched the way she looked.

The two of them air-kissed while Sasuke tried not to look out of place, trying for a smirk at Deidara. Deidara raised his eyebrows in greeting. The blonde man didn't smile either, but Sasuke wasn't perturbed. Deidara was actually wearing a suit, which was a huge difference from the band shirts he liked wearing the few times Sasuke saw him.

"Sasuke, this is Ino Yamanaka and her brother Deidara." Sasuke blinked at the sound of Sakura's voice. Ino was holding out a hand to him, smiling. Sasuke shook her hand.

"So you're Itachi's brother huh?" She asked, grinning. A full-fledged grin was enough to make most men melt in their shoes.

Ew, sappy thoughts.

"Yeah. I never knew Deidara had a sister." Sasuke said in return, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

Ino rolled her eyes. "I think my brother's ashamed of me or something. He never introduces me to his friends."

"I can't think why." The words were out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop himself. He had to fight a blush at the insinuation of his words. He tried to ignore Sakura who smothered a giggle and the amused glint in Ino's eyes.

Deidara mirrored the eye rolling his sister did a moment earlier. "You're so dramatic, un. Hey, have you seen Kisame?" Deidara said, turning to Sasuke.

He nodded. "Yeah, I saw him talking to Chouji Akimichi ten minutes ago."

Deidara smirked then turned to his sister. "Ino, hun. I'm going to find the other Akatsuki. Go and mingle, but don't leave the building. Dad wants us back home before midnight." Ino made a shooing gesture at him which the blonde-haired boy took as his cue to leave. He raised his hand as farewell to Sasuke and Sakura.

"You two have the same hairstyle." Sakura commented, trying to fill the now-awkward silence.

"Yeah, it's a... Yamanaka thing." Ino replies, smiling. She's looking straight at Sasuke, extremely amused at his obvious awkwardness.

"Oh. So, I'll leave you two alone 'cause I think I see Kiba over there..." Sakura says as she edges away from Sasuke and Ino, gleefully ignoring Sasuke's vicious glare. "Toodles!"

Sasuke's calling Sakura every foul name known to man in his head. Some best friend.

"I don't bite, you know." Sasuke stops glaring at Sakura and turns to face the blonde, who is daintily sipping her champagne. Sasuke bites back the extremely inappropriate retort that pops into his head (_Oh, but I like it when a girl bites_) because he doesn't want to be slapped in front of all these people.

"Ah, sorry. I just spaced out for a moment there." Sasuke half-smiles in apology.

"I noticed. Do you have the hots for Sakura or something?" Ino asks warily, and Sasuke's smile widens when he detects a hint of jealousy in her voice. Then his smile quickly gets wiped off when he realizes what Ino just said.

"No. She's incorrigible." Sasuke snorts. Ino grins at his reply. And Sasuke grins back.

Her smiling's infectious, damn it.

"Hey, little brother." And then Itachi's right beside Sasuke and it takes all Sasuke's infamous willpower not to go and kick his brother away, because Itachi's smirking and he has that gleam in his eye which means,

"Good evening, Miss Yamanaka. I'm sorry if my brother seems shy. He's not. He just becomes like this when he's around girls that he likes. Have a great night!"

And his stupid older brother disappears before Sasuke can slug him. He's staring at his feet in shame, and it takes Ino's laugh to make him look up.

It's funny, but Ino doesn't have a bell-like, chiming laugh. Which sounds nice, because she has a loud laugh which Sasuke knows is genuine.

"I'm flattered." Ino says with a devilish smirk. "So you're a shy boy around women he likes, huh?"

Sasuke's competitive nature comes surging back. He gets back his usual cocky smirk and regains his voice.

"Let me show you some stuff I'm not so shy about." The double entendre isn't lost on her.

Her seductive smile is answer enough.

* * *

A/N: I'm back! From now on, I'll do my best to upload on time. Yikes. Read and review please. Thanks!


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